Chair

ABSTRACT

415,138. Chairs; adjustable backrests. BURROUGHS ADDING MACHINE CO., 2nd Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. Feb. 23, 1933, No. 5568. Convention date, May 31, 1932. [Class 52 (ii).] In a metal chair with an adjustable back-rest 31 supported on a curved standard 14, the latter is slidably mounted in a sleeve 13 which is pivotally connected to the seat in a slot in the rear edge thereof, and means are provided for holding the standard 14 and the sleeve 13 in adjusted position, preferably in the form of a pair of links 42 pivoted to the seat support 2 and extending rearwardly on each side of the sleeve 13, against which they may be clamped by means of a bolt and wing nut 44. The seat may be formed of a metal core 3, to which is welded a metal plate 5, a cushion 6 being fixed to the plate 5. The sleeve 13 is of rectangular section, and is pivoted on a pin 12. The back-rest standard 14 is provided with openings 19 into which a spring-pressed pin 20 is adapted to enter to hold the back rest in vertically adjusted position. The depending arms 40 of the sleeve 13 are arranged so as to grip the lower part of the standard 14 when clamped to the links 42. The back-rest 31 may be adjustable angularly by means of a thumb-nut 32.

Dec. 18, 1934. D. P. ROWLAND 1,984,549

CHAIR I Filed May 31, 1932 INVENTOR @wzlgiziPFowiand 1%, 7%zmf ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 18, 1934 "PATENT orric-s CHAIR i Dwight P. Rowland, Detroit, Mich., assignor -to Burroughs Adding :Machine Company, Detroit, 'Mich., a corporation of 'Michigan Application .May 31, 1932, SerialNo. 614,323

61 Claims. (01.155-457) This invention relates to a chair and itis particularly concernedlwiththe seat and :back rest constructions of a metal chair.

-It is-.desirable, .in chairs, particularly office chairs,- tohave them as small as possible in order that they may occupy .a minimum amount of space andnotbe bulky. At the same time the chair seat must have sufficient area to comfortably support .an occupant. It is likewise very l desirable tohave the .back rest positioned so as to conform to the-natural body curves in order that an occupant who is continuously seated in the chair may not tire. Ithas been found that, if the back rest standard is supported closely adjacent the rear of the seat, the standard interferes with the operator sitting far enough back on the seat to get the benefit of the entire area of the chair seat. This requires that the chairseat be extended farther forward than .would otherwise be necessary. The present invention has been directed to a combination seat andback rest construction in which a minimumarea of chair seat is employed and at the same un ase. back reststandard is constructed in such'a way as not to interfere with thebody of the operator.

Accordingly, one of. the objects of the invention is to provide an improved. seat and back rest construction for chairs.

A more particular object is to provide an .improved back rest support.

.In constructinga chair seat out of metal, it is desirable to have the construction. as simple as possible and, at the same time, to have itpresent an artistic appearance. The present invention has been directed to the provision of such ahconstruction.

Another object is, therefore, to providean improved seat. construction.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following specificationand drawing.

Anembodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective side viewof the chair showing both the seat and the back rest;

Fig. 2 is aside elevationof the improved back rest with certain parts cut away to show the con struction and method of adjustment;

Fig. 3 is a partial rear elevation with certain parts cut away to show the construction more clearly;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a partial rear elevation of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 3 of a modified form of the invention.

The chair is provided with a base 1 rotatably supporting a seat standard 2.

The seat comprisesa member 33 stamped out of a single sheet or" metal and formed in the shape of, a truncated cone which,,when the seat is 5 mounted on the chair,.is in invertedposition. The lower end 4 of thiscone (Fig. '2) is shaped in theform of .acylindrical sleeve adapted to fit inside of and be attached to the seat supporting standard 2. Fixed to the. top of the cone ;3 is a single sheet of metal dwhioh is p ly-spo welded tomember-3 so that the twoarei-integral. This fiat metal sheet forms the seatingsuriace of the chair and it is of ,a size andshape-as idesired,ebeing, in the chair shown, of relatively, small area and covered with a cushion 5. The cone ,3 supports the sheet around its outside edges, thus leaving the center of the sheet unsupported. {The sheet has enough flexibility to yieldslishtl a the center so' as to get away-from the hard, unyielding surface often encountered in chairs.

T eb c es i connected t these iand h l in position on the chair bya construction as follows:

Themetalplate dot the chair seat hasa slot 10' in its rear edge as shown in Fig. 4. Fixed to the plate by the bolts 11 is a pivot pin 12-,which is positioned inthe slot 10 as indicated in Figs. 2 ands. J urnaled on this pivot is a tubular metal sleeve 13 o rectangular o .s ot onspre erably square and .sli ab rmoun e -i t i sleeve is a back rest standard 1 l-which is also made of tubular metal and rectangular in cross section, preferably square. The portion; l5 of the-sleeve 13 which is above the pivot 12 iscurved as indicated in Fig.2, preferably ona radiusofabout 20, inches. .This upper end 15. ofthe sleeve surrounds thev four sides of the. tubular-back rest standard 14 as indicated in Figs. land 2. wWhile the-lower portion 16 of the sleeve surroundsonly three sides of the tubular-back rest standard 14, said-standard contacting the pivot 12on its-forward'side as shown in Fig.2. The interior of the sleeve '13 is provided with a lining 17 of felt or "the 4 like which prevents the surface of .the back rest standard from becoming marred by the sliding of it during adjustments. The back rest standard 14 is provided with a plurality of openings 19 with which a spring pressed pin 20 is adapted to cooperate as shown in Fig. 3. This pin is urged by spring 21 into the opening 19 with which it is in register and, when it is desired to adjust the back rest standard up or down, the pin 20 is pulled out and the standard moved to the proper position after which the pin is allowed to enter the opening then registering with the pin.

A back rest 30 is pivoted to the top of the standard 14 and a cushion 31 is attached to this back rest. The angle of the back rest may be adjusted by means of a thumb nut 32 screw threaded onto a stud 33 attached to the back rest 30 and extending loosely through an opening 34 in thestandard 14.

It will be observed that part of the back rest standard 14 is curved in the same manner asis the tubular sleeve 13. The sleeve and the standard are not only located to the rear of their pivot 12, but they are also curved to the rear to clear the lower portion of the operators body. The standard then curves forward to support the back rest 30 at a point where it will engage the middle of the back of an occupant and firmly and comfortably support him and, at the same time, allow him to sit well back on the chair seat. This has the important advantage that a relatively small seat area may be used because the operator can sit well back on the seat without being interfered with by the back rest standard. In other words, the size of the chair may be reduced to a minimum and at the same time a comfortable and amply large chair is provided.

The sleeve 13 has two downwardly extending side portions 40 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Pivoted to a collar 41 which is attached to the seat standard 2 are a pair of links 42 which extend on the opposite outside sides of the side portions 40 of the sleeve 13. The links 42 are slotted at 43, as shown inFig. 2, and, extending through these slots and through openings in the sides 40 of the sleeve, is a bolt 44 (Fig. 3) on which a thumb nut 45 is screw threaded. A collar 46 is preferably positioned between the two side members 40 in order to space them. It will be clear that, when the thumb nut 45 is tightened, the links 42 will be clamped against the sides 40 of sleeve 13 which, in turn, are clamped against the ends of the collar 46. The sleeve 13 is thus adjustably held in position about its pivot. By loosening the thumb nut 45, the sleeve 13 may be adjusted about its pivot to different positions to rock the entire back rest assembly forward or backward.

From the construction thus far described, it will be clear that the construction provides three adjustments, namely, an adjustment for the angle of the back rest by means of the nut 32, a height adjustment for the back rest standard by means of which the height of the back rest may be varied, and a swinging adjustment for the entire back rest assembly about thepivot 12.

It is possible to use the thumb nut 45 to not only hold the sleeve 13 in adjusted position about its pivot but to also hold the back rest standard 14 inposition in the sleeve 13. In order to do this the releasable pin 20 and the collar 46 are omitted. When the thumb nut 45 is tightened, the links 42 are not only clamped against the sides 40 of the sleeve 13, but the sides of the sleeve are sprung inwardly and clamped tightly about the standard 14. The one thumb nut thus performs the two functions of holding the sleeve in adjusted position and of holding the standard in position in the sleeve.

It is to be understood that the construction shown is for purposes of illustration only and that variations may be made in it without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A chair having a seat comprisinga metal seat, a slot in the rear of said seat, a tubular .metal sleeve pivoted in said slot, means for holding said sleeve in different adjusted positions about its pivot, a tubular metal back rest standard slidably mounted in said sleeve, and means for releasably holding said tubular back rest standard in different adjusted positions of said sleeve.

2. A chair having a seat, a standard supporting said seat, a tubular sleeve pivoted to the rear of said seat, a pair of links pivoted to said seat standard, adjustable connections between said links and said sleeve to hold said sleeve in different adjusted positions about its pivot, a back rest standard slidably mounted in said sleeve, and means for holding said standard in diiferent adjusted positions in said sleeve.

3. A chair having a seat, a standard supporting said seat, a tubular sleeve pivoted to the rear of said seat, means pivoted to said seat standard, adjustable connections between said means and said sleeve to. hold said sleeve in different adjusted positions about its pivot, a back rest standard slidably mounted in said sleeve, and means for holding said standard in diiferent adjusted positions in said sleeve.

4. A chair having a seat, a pivot carried di rectly by the seat adjacent the rear edge, thereof, a sleeve pivotally supported by said pivot, 23. back rest. standard slidable in said sleeve, means for holding said sleeve indifferent adjusted positions about its pivot, and means for holding said standard in different adjusted positions in said sleeve.

5. A chair having a seat, a standard support-, ing said seat, a tubular sleeve pivoted to the rear of said seat, a tubular back rest standard slidable in said sleeve, a pair of links pivoted to said seat standard and extending rearwardly on opposite sides of said tubular sleeve, and means for clamping said links against portions of said sleeve to hold said sleeve in adjusted position about its pivot and for clamping said portions of said sleeve against said back rest standard to hold said standard in adjusted position within said sleeve.

6. A chair having a seat, a standard supporting said seat, a tubular sleeve pivoted to the rear of said seat, a link connected to said seat standard and to said sleeve, one of said connections being adjustable to hold said sleeve in difierent adjusted positions about its pivot, a back rest standard slidably mounted in said sleeve, and means for holding said standard in diiferent adjusted positions in said sleeve.

DWIGHT P. ROWLAND. 

